And why not, I had a dream come true. On the long weekend, I was able to finally check one item off my wish list. Dream destination prior to Greece is, tantananan! Sagada!My high school best bud Cindz accompanied me on this trip and we took the twelve-hour bus ride from Manila to Bontoc. Twelve. Hours. On the bus. Long and winding road. Little leg room.I couldn't sleep not because I was uncomfortable but because I was extremely excited about the whole thing.
I stayed up through rice fields, mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers all the way from Bulacan to Banaue. The view and sights were awesome and I couldn't help praising God for the beauty of creation. I watched the stars twinkle and fade. I saw how the sky turned from black to purple to red to yellow to blue.
[Insert Sunday School song...]
[Insert Sunday School song...]
God created twinkling stars,
God created river flows,
God created mountains high,
God created meeee...
God created river flows,
God created mountains high,
God created meeee...
God creates beautiful things. Ehem.
We got to Bontoc at 10am-ish and rode a jeepney to Sagada. I imagined the place a lot differently in my head (I blame Don't Give Up and Piolo) but it wasn't so bad. It's a lot like Baguio, actually, which makes the place lovable and a lot like home.
We planned on sightseeing that afternoon and attempt cave, ehem, get this- connection, the following day. The tour guide person at the front desk advised that we try caving first if we want to maximize the Sagada experience (we had to leave the following afternoon).
freezing kewld, pare.
Manong Allen was our 'cave man.' He's such a delight to be with. Haha, I swear he needed all the patience he can get because we were probably the most nonathletic, highly uncoordinated beings on the planet. Plus we whine a lot.
The caves were just majestic and I was in awe again at the beauty of creation as Manong Allen narrated how all these wonders are not man-made and have been around for a long, long time. Then there were also refresher courses on stalactites, stalagmites, bats and darkness.
The trek wasn’t easy especially for newbie’s such as us but we really made the most out of the experience. Every now and then we’d stop for photos, catch our breaths and figure out what shapes the rocks took. Manong Allen will tell us the level of difficulty as we went further and deeper into the caves just to measure if we’re up for the challenge. Then would be a good time to stumble upon Bruce Wayne’s lair; that would've been a good reason to go on.
Normally, I’d quit at the soonest possible time but the whole thing was too good to pass up. I definitely did not want to miss a thing. Armageddon kung Armageddon, go lang ng go! One song was playing on my head as I carefully watched my steps. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not strong enough; Don’t give up… Aah. Thank you, Hannah Montana.
When I couldn’t go on anymore, I’d sit on a rock, dramatically sigh and say, ‘Dito na lang po ako titira, padalan niyo na lang po ako ng dinner.’ Manong Allen would just snicker, turn away and bring the light with him. Of course I’d follow feeling much, much better.
To keep a cheery disposition, we took a lot of pictures and stayed in one nice area for a longer time. When other tour groups would catch up on us, I’d scream, ‘I see people, we’re saved!’ We all laugh it off and go on our merry way.
It was tough to imagine how we survived the cave connection. There were rappelling, jumping into pools, rock climbing, making contortions you wouldn’t imagine yourself getting into, random cave quizzes and strolling barefoot onto cracks and crevices created in the beginning of the world. The waters were freezing; there were sharp and slippery rocks all over and who knows what lurks inside the dark, narrow passages. But we made it! After that we knew there was nothing we couldn’t do now. No broken nails, bones or egos. Hahaha.
Just that afterwards, every joint and muscle ached with every. Single. Motion. As soon as our backs lain on the bed, we were off to a dreamless slumber.
*Day Two in a while*
We got to Bontoc at 10am-ish and rode a jeepney to Sagada. I imagined the place a lot differently in my head (I blame Don't Give Up and Piolo) but it wasn't so bad. It's a lot like Baguio, actually, which makes the place lovable and a lot like home.
We planned on sightseeing that afternoon and attempt cave, ehem, get this- connection, the following day. The tour guide person at the front desk advised that we try caving first if we want to maximize the Sagada experience (we had to leave the following afternoon).
freezing kewld, pare.Manong Allen was our 'cave man.' He's such a delight to be with. Haha, I swear he needed all the patience he can get because we were probably the most nonathletic, highly uncoordinated beings on the planet. Plus we whine a lot.
The caves were just majestic and I was in awe again at the beauty of creation as Manong Allen narrated how all these wonders are not man-made and have been around for a long, long time. Then there were also refresher courses on stalactites, stalagmites, bats and darkness.
The trek wasn’t easy especially for newbie’s such as us but we really made the most out of the experience. Every now and then we’d stop for photos, catch our breaths and figure out what shapes the rocks took. Manong Allen will tell us the level of difficulty as we went further and deeper into the caves just to measure if we’re up for the challenge. Then would be a good time to stumble upon Bruce Wayne’s lair; that would've been a good reason to go on.
Normally, I’d quit at the soonest possible time but the whole thing was too good to pass up. I definitely did not want to miss a thing. Armageddon kung Armageddon, go lang ng go! One song was playing on my head as I carefully watched my steps. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not strong enough; Don’t give up… Aah. Thank you, Hannah Montana.
When I couldn’t go on anymore, I’d sit on a rock, dramatically sigh and say, ‘Dito na lang po ako titira, padalan niyo na lang po ako ng dinner.’ Manong Allen would just snicker, turn away and bring the light with him. Of course I’d follow feeling much, much better.
To keep a cheery disposition, we took a lot of pictures and stayed in one nice area for a longer time. When other tour groups would catch up on us, I’d scream, ‘I see people, we’re saved!’ We all laugh it off and go on our merry way.
It was tough to imagine how we survived the cave connection. There were rappelling, jumping into pools, rock climbing, making contortions you wouldn’t imagine yourself getting into, random cave quizzes and strolling barefoot onto cracks and crevices created in the beginning of the world. The waters were freezing; there were sharp and slippery rocks all over and who knows what lurks inside the dark, narrow passages. But we made it! After that we knew there was nothing we couldn’t do now. No broken nails, bones or egos. Hahaha.
Just that afterwards, every joint and muscle ached with every. Single. Motion. As soon as our backs lain on the bed, we were off to a dreamless slumber.
*Day Two in a while*
8 comments:
waw! kakainggit.. pwedeng tanong how much was your budget for this trip, accommodations, trips, food and all the expeditions.. eheheh :D
less than 5k balikan and all. check out visitsagada.com for more info. x)
yay for the xaris! :D
i know right. x)
inggit ako. i've never been to Sagada. paano kasi, ung supposed trip namin jan under Outdoor rec e na cancel kasi ung mga taga Diliman na aksidente sa EK. hay naku!
kami rin! kinancel field trip namin because of Diliman. kindergarten much.
ang ganda ganda and uber nice there. hay. let's go back. x)
wow! inggit ako. i want to go back there too!!!
lainy tara! x)
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